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Flinte V, Pádua DG, Durand EM, Hodgin C, Khattar G, da Silveira LFL, Fernandes DRR, Sääksjärvi IE, Monteiro RF, Macedo MV, Mayhew PJ. Variation in a Darwin Wasp (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) Community along an Elevation Gradient in a Tropical Biodiversity Hotspot: Implications for Ecology and Conservation. INSECTS 2023; 14:861. [PMID: 37999060 PMCID: PMC10671876 DOI: 10.3390/insects14110861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how biodiversity varies from place to place is a fundamental goal of ecology and an important tool for halting biodiversity loss. Parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera) are a diverse and functionally important animal group, but spatial variation in their diversity is poorly understood. We survey a community of parasitic wasps (Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) using Malaise traps up a mountain in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, and relate the catch to biotic and abiotic habitat characteristics. We find high species richness compared with previous similar studies, with abundance, richness, and diversity peaking at low to intermediate elevation. There is a marked change in community composition with elevation. Habitat factors strongly correlated with elevation also strongly predict changes in the pimpline community, including temperature as well as the density of bamboo, lianas, epiphytes, small trees, and herbs. These results identify several possible surrogates of pimpline communities in tropical forests, which could be used as a tool in conservation. They also contribute to the growing evidence for a typical latitudinal gradient in ichneumonid species richness, and suggest that low to medium elevations in tropical regions will sometimes conserve the greatest number of species locally, but to conserve maximal biodiversity, a wider range of elevations should also be targeted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivian Flinte
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, C.P. 68020, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil; (V.F.); (G.K.); (L.F.L.d.S.); (R.F.M.); (M.V.M.)
| | - Diego G. Pádua
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Entomologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus 69067-375, Brazil; (D.G.P.); (D.R.R.F.)
- Centro de Investigación de Estudios Avanzados del Maule, Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado, Universidad Católica del Maule, Avenida San Miguel, Talca 3605, Chile
| | - Emily M. Durand
- Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK; (E.M.D.); (C.H.)
| | - Caitlin Hodgin
- Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK; (E.M.D.); (C.H.)
| | - Gabriel Khattar
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, C.P. 68020, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil; (V.F.); (G.K.); (L.F.L.d.S.); (R.F.M.); (M.V.M.)
- Laboratory of Community and Quantitative Ecology, Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Luiz Felipe L. da Silveira
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, C.P. 68020, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil; (V.F.); (G.K.); (L.F.L.d.S.); (R.F.M.); (M.V.M.)
- Biology Department, Western Carolina University, 1 University Drive, Cullowhee, NC 28723, USA
| | - Daniell R. R. Fernandes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Entomologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus 69067-375, Brazil; (D.G.P.); (D.R.R.F.)
| | | | - Ricardo F. Monteiro
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, C.P. 68020, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil; (V.F.); (G.K.); (L.F.L.d.S.); (R.F.M.); (M.V.M.)
| | - Margarete V. Macedo
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, C.P. 68020, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil; (V.F.); (G.K.); (L.F.L.d.S.); (R.F.M.); (M.V.M.)
| | - Peter J. Mayhew
- Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK; (E.M.D.); (C.H.)
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Majoros SE, Adamowicz SJ. Phylogenetic signal of sub-arctic beetle communities. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8520. [PMID: 35222946 PMCID: PMC8848465 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Postglacial dispersal and colonization processes have shaped community patterns in sub-Arctic regions such as Churchill, Manitoba, and Canada. This study investigates evolutionary community structure within the beetle (Coleoptera) families of Churchill and tests whether biological traits have played a role in governing colonization patterns from refugial and southerly geographic regions. This study quantifies sub-Arctic beetle phylogenetic community structure for each family using the net relatedness index (NRI) and nearest taxon index (NTI), calculated using publicly available data from the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD); compares patterns across families with different traits (habitat, diet) using standard statistical analysis (ANOVA) as well as phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) using a family-level beetle phylogeny obtained from the literature; and compares community structure in Churchill with a region in southern Canada (Guelph, Ontario). These analyses were also repeated at a genus level. The dominant pattern detected in our study was that aquatic families were much better represented in Churchill compared to terrestrial families, when compared against richness sampled from across Canada and Alaska. Individually, most families showed significant phylogenetic clustering in Churchill, likely due to the strong environmental filtering present in Arctic environments. There was no significant difference in phylogenetic structure between Churchill and Guelph but with a trend toward stronger clustering in the North. Fungivores were significantly more overdispersed than other feeding modes, predators were significantly more clustered, and aquatic families showed significantly stronger clustering compared to terrestrial. This study contributes to our understanding of the traits and processes structuring insect biodiversity and macroecological trends in the sub-Arctic.
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Forbes AA, Bagley RK, Beer MA, Hippee AC, Widmayer HA. Quantifying the unquantifiable: why Hymenoptera, not Coleoptera, is the most speciose animal order. BMC Ecol 2018; 18:21. [PMID: 30001194 PMCID: PMC6042248 DOI: 10.1186/s12898-018-0176-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2018] [Accepted: 06/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We challenge the oft-repeated claim that the beetles (Coleoptera) are the most species-rich order of animals. Instead, we assert that another order of insects, the Hymenoptera, is more speciose, due in large part to the massively diverse but relatively poorly known parasitoid wasps. The idea that the beetles have more species than other orders is primarily based on their respective collection histories and the relative availability of taxonomic resources, which both disfavor parasitoid wasps. Though it is unreasonable to directly compare numbers of described species in each order, the ecology of parasitic wasps-specifically, their intimate interactions with their hosts-allows for estimation of relative richness. RESULTS We present a simple logical model that shows how the specialization of many parasitic wasps on their hosts suggests few scenarios in which there would be more beetle species than parasitic wasp species. We couple this model with an accounting of what we call the "genus-specific parasitoid-host ratio" from four well-studied genera of insect hosts, a metric by which to generate extremely conservative estimates of the average number of parasitic wasp species attacking a given beetle or other insect host species. CONCLUSIONS Synthesis of our model with data from real host systems suggests that the Hymenoptera may have 2.5-3.2× more species than the Coleoptera. While there are more described species of beetles than all other animals, the Hymenoptera are almost certainly the larger order.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew A Forbes
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, 434 Biology Building, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
| | - Robin K Bagley
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, 434 Biology Building, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Marc A Beer
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, 434 Biology Building, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Alaine C Hippee
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, 434 Biology Building, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Heather A Widmayer
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, 434 Biology Building, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
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Saunders TE, Ward DF. Variation in the diversity and richness of parasitoid wasps based on sampling effort. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4642. [PMID: 29632746 PMCID: PMC5889912 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasitoid wasps are a mega-diverse, ecologically dominant, but poorly studied component of global biodiversity. In order to maximise the efficiency and reduce the cost of their collection, the application of optimal sampling techniques is necessary. Two sites in Auckland, New Zealand were sampled intensively to determine the relationship between sampling effort and observed species richness of parasitoid wasps from the family Ichneumonidae. Twenty traps were deployed at each site at three different times over the austral summer period, resulting in a total sampling effort of 840 Malaise-trap-days. Rarefaction techniques and non-parametric estimators were used to predict species richness and to evaluate the variation and completeness of sampling. Despite an intensive Malaise-trapping regime over the summer period, no asymptote of species richness was reached. At best, sampling captured two-thirds of parasitoid wasp species present. The estimated total number of species present depended on the month of sampling and the statistical estimator used. Consequently, the use of fewer traps would have caught only a small proportion of all species (one trap 7–21%; two traps 13–32%), and many traps contributed little to the overall number of individuals caught. However, variation in the catch of individual Malaise traps was not explained by seasonal turnover of species, vegetation or environmental conditions surrounding the trap, or distance of traps to one another. Overall the results demonstrate that even with an intense sampling effort the community is incompletely sampled. The use of only a few traps and/or for very short periods severely limits the estimates of richness because (i) fewer individuals are caught leading to a greater number of singletons; and (ii) the considerable variation of individual traps means some traps will contribute few or no individuals. Understanding how sampling effort affects the richness and diversity of parasitoid wasps is a useful foundation for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E Saunders
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Darren F Ward
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.,Landcare Research, Auckland, New Zealand
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